Goodbye Lisbon

16/08/2015

Adeus Lisboa

As my first month of Digital Nomading comes to an end, I say a fond farewell to Lisbon and the people I have met here. The experience has been amazing and Lisbon is an incredible city. Everyone I met prior – who had been – said it is a great city, and my expectations have been superseded. I could definitely have seen myself staying here for longer and plan to return sometime.

One of the main questions I sought to answer before setting off was, “How long is a good amount of time to live and work somewhere?” After a month I felt like I had begun to become properly settled and had started to get to know people better. I am wondering if two months in a city would be a better amount of time for the future.

The next stage of the journey will involve very much the same. Working in shared office spaces in Spain. This time not for as long as in Portgual as I need to get back to the UK for a wedding (I am an usher so can’t come up with a good enough excuse not to be there – joking, really wouldn’t want to miss this one!) but it will be interesting to contrast shorter periods in cities with the longer time I have spent in Lisbon.

And especially, just generally meeting and doing day to day life with some awesome local and non-local people.

Being British, I know I’m not really supposed to get sentimental and emotional about stuff, but I’m going to put that to one side for a second.

On one of my first days in Lisbon, I stumbled upon this park with an amazing view of the city. It was a weird feeling accidentally ending up there again on my last day and made me feel quite nostalgic. It was like a full circle had been made, beginning with the unknown and ending with familiarity. The Portuguese have a word “saudade” which sort of means a feeling of nostalgic longing through separation, but without a direct translation in English. Something I am sure I will feel something of whenever I think of Lisbon. Thanks to everyone who made it such a good trip.